The Everett Silvertips were a good team last season that found a way to improve further heading into the 2024-25 Western Hockey League campaign.

Everett finished with the fourth-best record in the league last year at 45-18-5 and was vying with the Prince George Cougars and Portland Winterhawks for first place in the Western Conference until the final days of the season.

The Silvertips easily advanced through the first round by defeating the Vancouver Giants in five games, but were eliminated by the Winterhawks in a second round sweep.

Despite the disappointment of being eliminated, the team had plenty of reasons to be excited heading into this season.

In 2023, the Silvertips traded star defenseman Olen Zellweger and forward Ryan Hofer to the Kamloops Blazers for forwards Drew Englot and Jack Bakker, defensemen Kaden Hammell and Rylan Pearce, along with 10 draft picks, including their first round of 2024.

After Kamloops finished with a league-worst 20-42-6 record last year, Everett was able to use the first overall selection to draft phenom defenseman Landon DuPont.

“Everett was a good team when they traded Zellweger, but they didn’t think they were going to win at that point,” TSN scouting director Craig Button said. “They benefited from bringing a top player to their program through this trade. When they traded Zellweger, it put them in trouble.

DuPont became the second player to achieve Outstanding Player status in WHL history, joining Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard. He is the ninth player in CHL history to achieve exceptional status, joining Bédard, John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Sean Day, Joe Veleno, Shane Wright and Michael Misa.

To start the 2024-25 campaign, the Silvertips have been the class of the league with a 15-3-1 record. They are the highest scoring team with 94 goals and are only second to the Brandon Wheat Kings in goals allowed with 53.

DuPont lived up to the hype through 15 games, recording five goals and 17 points as a 15-year-old, good for ninth in the league among defensemen.

“You don’t come into the league and do what he does unless he’s a heck of a player,” Button said. “He does everything well. He’s a great skater, a great thinker, he’s smart, competitive and he makes plays. I don’t know if he’s missing something.

The Silvertips were led up front by centers Carter Bear and Tyler MacKenzie, who rank second and third in scoring in the WHL.

Bear, 18, is eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft and leads the team in scoring with 16 goals and 32 points in 19 games. The 6-foot center will also represent the CHL at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge later this month.

“Carter had the opportunity to play last year and he continued to improve throughout the year,” Button said. “He’s in and around the puck, in all the tough areas, and he knows how to score. These are all attributes you want to see in a player and he has the ability to take those attributes and translate them into success.

MacKenzie was acquired by the Silvertips from the Medicine Hat Tigers in May for a draft pick. The 20-year-old center has 17 goals and 31 points in 19 games and is on pace to shatter his previous career high of 16 goals and 47 points in 68 games last season.

Leading the defense alongside DuPont is Anaheim Ducks prospect Tarin Smith, who leads all WHL defensemen with five goals and 23 points this season.

The additions of DuPont and MacKenzie to go along with core pieces like Bear, Smith, Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen and surplus forward Dominik Rymon put the Silvertips in a position where they win now and build for the future.

However, Button believes the team is focused on this season and not worrying about what next season might look like.

“Nothing that happens to Everett is accidental, they’re a very good team,” Button said. “They look at who their current competitors are and what they can do to have a chance of winning. They are building for the future, but the future is now.

The IceDogs return to form

The Niagara IceDogs are back in the playoff race after being in the Ontario Hockey League cellar for the past three seasons.

Niagara has the fourth-best record at 13-4-0 heading into Wednesday’s game and its 73 goals are good for fifth-best in the league while allowing just 67 in its own net.

Part of the IceDogs’ success this year is due to the injection of young talent the team has been able to assemble over the past few seasons.

Leading the way is captain Kevin He, who ranks fifth in the OHL in scoring with 16 goals and 28 points. The Winnipeg Jets prospect is in his third season with the club and has seen his production increase each season.

“He has been an exceptional player for the IceDogs,” Button said. “He’s interested in running the play, he wants the puck and he wants to play with the puck.”

One of the only benefits of finishing at the bottom of the league is the ability to add young talent from the top of the priority draft. The IceDogs did so by selecting winger Ryan Roobroeck second overall and center Ethan Czata fifth overall in 2023, while selecting forward Brady Wassilyn fourth last season.

Roobroeck joined the IceDogs last season and was immediately counted on to score as a 16-year-old. He finished third on the team last season with 28 goals and 51 points, just two points behind leader Gavin Bryant.

This season, the London, Ont., native has 13 goals and 22 points in 18 games and is a candidate to represent Canada at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship in April.

Czata needed more time to get used to the OHL. As a rookie last season, he had just seven goals and 17 points in 62 games. However, the Brampton, Ontario native managed to shine enough to be a part of Canada’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup-winning team.

That newfound confidence has helped the 17-year-old this season, who has four goals and 12 points in 18 games and is eligible for this year’s NHL draft.

Wassilyn had two goals and 10 points in 12 games to start his OHL career and turned heads at the World U17 Hockey Challenge, recording two goals and three points to help Canada Red win the silver medal.

To support all the young talent, the IceDogs also signed Seattle Kraken prospect Andrei Loshko in the CHL Import Draft, and he made an immediate impact. The Belarus native is second on the team with nine goals and 25 points as he continues to grow as a player.

The IceDogs have the advantage of knowing their young core is going to be around for a while. He and Czata will likely be sent back to Niagara by their NHL clubs next season, while Roobroeck won’t be eligible for the NHL draft until 2026.

This allows the IceDogs to grow as a team and hopefully reach their peak when they are able to contend for the Memorial Cup.

“They have some good young players that will not only be there this year, but next year as well,” Button said. “You can’t win or be successful without quality players and they managed to achieve that this year. There’s no reason they can’t be good again (next year).

One of the great stories at the start of the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League was the play of rookie Lars Steiner.

The 16-year-old forward was selected 46th overall in the 2024 CHL International Draft in Switzerland by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and did not disappoint.

Heading into Wednesday’s game, Steiner is tied for four for the league lead in scoring with 11 goals and 31 points. He is at the top of the rankings with veterans like his teammate Antonin Verreault, Baie-Comeau Drakkar winger Justin Poirier and Jonathan Fauchon of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

“Steiner is probably one of my top 15 players for the 2026 NHL Draft,” Button said. “We’re talking about someone who has a high level of skill and it’s not easy to get into a league like the QMJHL. When you can think and play at the level he plays at, it’s extremely impressive.

Although he didn’t appear on the scoresheet, Steiner’s play also impressed scouts at last summer’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he scored a goal and two points for Switzerland.

With about a month and a half until the 2025 World Juniors in Ottawa, Steiner can be expected to play a role for Switzerland in the major tournament.